Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center

Front Cover
Pluto Press, 2000 - Political Science - 179 pages

'[An] intelligently critical, inclusive, personal and very accessible feminist polemic... A very good book, promoting a feminism which includes women of all classes and colours, and which does not exclude men either. The experience of ordinary people, rather than largely white female academics, is at its heart. Still very relevant, and recommended.' Theory.org

Feminist Theory established bell hooks as one of international feminism's most challenging and influential voices. This edition includes a new preface by the author, reflecting on the book's impact and the development of her ideas since it was first published. In this beautifully written and carefully argued work, hooks maintains that mainstream feminism's reliance on white, middle-class, and professional spokeswomen obscures the involvement, leadership, and centrality of women of colour and poor women in the movement for women's liberation. Hooks argues that feminism's goal of seeking credibility and acceptance on already existing ground - rather than demanding the lasting and more fundamental transformation of society - has shortchanged the movement.

A sweeping examination of the core issues of sexual politics, Feminist Theory argues that contemporary feminists must acknowledge the full complexity and diversity of women's experience to create a mass movement to end women's oppression.

 

Contents

BLACK WOMEN Shaping Feminist Theory
1
FEMINISM A Movement to End Sexist Oppression
18
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF FEMINIST MOVEMENT
34
SISTERHOOD Political Solidarity Among Women
43
MEN Comrades in Struggle
68
CHANGING PERSPECTIVES ON POWER
84
RETHINKING THE NATURE OF WORK
96
EDUCATING WOMEN A Feminist Agenda
108
FEMINIST MOVEMENT TO END VIOLENCE
117
REVOLUTIONARY PARENTING
133
ENDING FEMALE SEXUAL OPPRESSION
148
FEMINIST REVOLUTION Development Through Struggle
159
Bibliography
167
Index
173
Copyright

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About the author (2000)

Bell Hooks was born Gloria Watkins on September 25, 1952. She grew up in a small Southern community that gave her a sense of belonging as well as a sense of racial separation. She has degrees from Stanford University, the University of Wisconsin, and the University of California at Santa Cruz. She has served as a noted activist and social critic and has taught at numerous colleges. Hooks uses her great-grandmother's name to write under as a tribute to her ancestors. Hooks writes daring and controversial works that explore African-American female identities. In works such as Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism and Talking Back: Thinking Feminist, Thinking Black, she points out how feminism works for and against black women. Oppressed since slavery, black women must overcome the dual odds of race and gender discrimination to come to terms with equality and self-worth.

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